There are few things that move me more than a night sky. When the air is clean, and when I’m far from noisy, bright cities, the stars speak to me. They are a powerful reminder of how I, a measly collection of atoms, can be so big yet so small at exactly the same time.

In India, it’s hard to find this sky. The cities are plagued with smog, and the lights and noise of 1.2 billion people permeate nearly every inch of the subcontinent.

While it might be hotter than hell, I think I may have found some version of Heaven on Earth. The relentless drone of traffic and car horns is long gone, despite it featuring prominently in my scene just 24 hours before. Instead, I hear nothing but the rustle of palm trees and a symphony of cacaws coming from the crows perched in the branches above.

Sweat drips down and off my face, but the steady breeze quickly rushes it away. The sun is deadly, but refuge can be found under the awning that stretches across the rooftop terrace.

The blazing Philippine sun beats relentlessly on my pasty winter skin. From behind, my teenage skipper barks at me to row, then to stop, then to row again. I obey willingly, smiling as I push my feeble paddle through the chop.

All this talk about love, compassion and respect for difference paints a pretty picture about the world. It’s easy to let yourself believe this is how things really are, but then there is reality. For all the hand-holding and kumbaya-ing, we all know that there are loads of jerks out there. People that make us shake our heads and wonder, “what is going on?!”

What a deceptively straightforward question. We ask it about food, movies, TV shows, cars, you name it. We ask it so often, yet an answer is rarely easy to find. There is something about having to choose just one that makes us balk, makes us crack under pressure.

I have been fortunate to spend the last few years of my life living abroad and travelling and whenever I go home or see someone after a trip, the inevitable question always come up: what was the best part? What was your favorite?